Residents in lush south-west of City of Albany rally against mining exploration application

Residents in the lush south-western reaches of the City of Albany have rallied against a proposal for a 5000ha mining tenement. An application for an exploration licence was lodged by David Alan Zohar on January 14, covering parts of Kronkup, Torbay, Elleker and Marbelup. Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety executive director of resource tenure Kristian Dawson said the application covered “private property, reserved lands and road reserves”. “At this stage of the application process, the material the applicant is searching for is confidential,” he said. On February 11, about 100 residents attended a community meeting organised by Torbay Catchment Group to discuss their objections to the application. Torbay Catchment Group chairwoman Diane Evers said attendees were “unanimous in their opposition to mining exploration in this area”. Objections against the application were required to be lodged by last Friday, 35 days from the date the application was made. The department confirmed on Monday they had received 97 objections. The application will be subject to other approvals, including native title processes, before it is referred to Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston for a final decision. Last week, Ms Evers said those who attended the community meeting were objecting because of potential impacts on agriculture, Indigenous heritage and water resources. “People down here don’t want to see it happen,” Ms Evers said. “They don’t want the noise, they don’t want the traffic, they don’t want the ground disturbance, they don’t want the clearing of the habitats of the endangered western ringtail possum.” Mr Dawson was not able to say what form of exploration the applicant had planned, but said “any expected disturbances caused by exploration” would have to be included in an approved program of work. “The Mining Act 1978 requires that a POW is lodged in the prescribed manner and approved . . . prior to an explorer or prospector conducting any ground disturbing activities with mechanised equipment,” he said. “Activities must be rehabilitated within six months of completion of ground disturbance, or following an approved extension. “A rehabilitation report should then be submitted to DMIRS.” Mr Dawson said that access to private land to a depth of 30m can only be granted with the written consent of the owner and occupier of the land. The land below 30m, however, does not require the owner’s consent. “The applicant has also indicated that the application is for subsurface rights only in respect to any private land affected,” Mr Dawson said. “That is below 30m from the natural surface of that land. “Tenement holders would either have access to land surface where consent has been obtained on another owner’s land, or access to land where consent is not required. “The tenement holder may then gain entry and drill horizontally subsurface and carry out underground mining not less than 30m from the natural surface.” One local resident, who asked not to be named in this report, owns a 6ha property within the proposed tenement. She said she was “very surprised and very frustrated” to find out about the application through social media. “There’s been nothing sent to the owners of the land, at all, either by the applicant or the department,” she said. Mr Dawson said applicants for tenements on private land were “required to give notice to the local government authority”. “DMIRS cannot comment on how a local government authority consults with landowners,” he said. In a statement, the City of Albany executive director of infrastructure, development and environment Paul Camins said the City was aware of the application. “The entire application process is administered by DMIRS, including consultation that they deem appropriate and required under legislation,” Mr Camins said. “The City, as a land manager will provide feedback to DMIRS in relation to the potential impact on our managed infrastructure.”